Stepping Forward
by Sapphodile
Summary: Just oneshot RikkuxPaine fluff. My first fanfic, decided to post because I miss RxP.


Author: Sapphodil aka Whistler

E-mail: Not mine

Warning: this fic contains shoujo ai, femmslash, yuri, girl×girl action, whatever, pick one. If this is not your deal then please proceed to the exit…

Note: this is my first fanfic ever and it might well be the last so no flames please. This is probably a bit OOC due to my inadequacy as a writer, just don't shoot me. Possibly some gramma mistakes as English is not my first language.

_Thoughts are in italic_.

Feedback: would be really nice.

**Stepping Forward**

****

"How 'bout this Saturday?" said Rikku, bouncing in front of the leather-clad warrior.

"No." came the short reply.

"C'mon Paine!"

"I said no." Paine glanced around looking for a way out of the bridge where the blonde's voice was starting to draw attention of Brother, Buddy and Shinra on them.

"Ohh.. stop being such a grumpy head!" Rikku said with a stamp of her feet.

"You're a pain, Rikku. That's 44 by the way." Letting her hands fall down from her chest and rested one on her hip, Paine turned to look straight at the blonde.

"But I wanna go on a date with you…" with her head hung low, Rikku said in a small whiny voice.

Paine wasn't really sure how they ended up this way. It had started as a simple consolation talk…

---------------------------

It was the night after Yuna had fallen into the hole inside Djose temple. Paine knew the thief was greatly distressed with worry for her cousin. They had tried tossing the Commspheres in the hole but those things had proven to be useless. After a frustrated groan at the hopelessness of the situation they seemed to be in, Rikku had thrown a small fit and went up the elevator to got to the deck.

_She's been there for almost two hours. _And Paine was getting worried, not that she would ever say it openly, of course. It was hard for her to show her emotions. She found that it made her feel vulnerable and weak, and Paine hated feeling weak. Having to grow up by herself, the girl quickly learned that a tough exterior was an effective protection.

After a few more minutes of contemplating the idea, the warrior decided to go check on the younger girl. _Just to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid._

---

Rikku was sitting at the far end of the deck when Paine stepped up onto the platform. The blonde had her knees up on to her chest with her arms around them, staring off to the faint light of Luca ahead.

She had said nothing as she walked over and sat down next to Rikku, leaving enough space for her to still feel comfortable. Paine closed her eyes and, for a moment, focused only on the feel of the wind against her skin and the way it played with her shot silver hair. Glancing at the smaller girl beside her, she thought about how relaxed this actually felt. It's not that she minded the perky, fun-loving and annoyingly… cute Rikku. _But this is nice too, just sitting here with her like this._

In her first week of joining the Gullwings, Paine had seriously considered leaving the group. Sure, Rikku's constant whining over Paine's nonchalant attitude had gotten on her nerve quite a bit, but it was almost nothing compared to Brother. The guy's cocky and childish attitude really did irritate her to no ends. _Until I taught him what happens to those who tries my patience. _The thought brought a smirk to her face. If it wasn't for the chance to fly the Celsius and her strangely growing curiosity of the Al Bhed girl, Paine would have been gone after she had severely hurt Brother. Not so long after that, Yuna came and joined them. _Yuna…_

Looking at Rikku, Paine started quietly, "You know she's gonna be ok." She was a bit surprised by the softness of her own voice but she didn't have time to think about it when the small blonde let out a sign and flopped her head down on her arms.

"I know. She's Yunie so she'll be ok. It's just…" Rikku mumbled before trialing off.

"What is it Rikku?" Paine reached out with her hand to gingerly touch the girl's shoulder.

The blonde looked up at the older girl with tears in her eyes then turned to stare off into the night again. "I tried so hard during her pilgrimage two years ago, to keep her safe, you know? I didn't want Yunie to sacrifice her own life to make the rest of Spira happy. Then, when we finally defeated Sin, when I finally thought Yunie could live her own life and be happy…" A small sob escaped her and Paine increased the firmness of her hold on the slightly trembling shoulder. "He had to go away! And, and Yunie was crushed. She pretended to be ok so people wouldn't worry about her much but I knew…" Rikku shook her head and continued "Now she's hunting spheres to look for him, ding something for herself for the first time… and this Vegnagun thing has to come up! She's fallen into this hole and we don't even know how she's doing! I know she's gonna be alright but when will she be happy? She's done so much, Paine. She deserves to be happy. Why can't people leave her alone and let her be happy?" Rikku finished in a broken voice. By now the tears were falling freely down her face and she was looking straight into the older girl's eyes with a wounded expression.

Paine gently pulled the crying girl into her embrace, letting Rikku's head rest on her shoulder and wrapping her arm around the shaking girl. She felt Rikku's arms threaded around her waist, pulling their bodies closer while the small frame shook with sobs.

Paine just held her there until Rikku calmed down a little. An unexpected fierce protectiveness and a need to comfort the other girl welled up inside her. Paine tightened her hold on the girl's shoulder and whispered softly into her ears. "It's ok, Rikku. Everything is going to be alright so don't cry." As she spoke the smaller girl had snuggled closer and buried her face in the nape of Paine's neck. She had thought that it would be uncomfortable being this close to someone but having Rikku in her arms, close to her, actually felt good. It felt natural and fulfilling. Lifting her other hand to stroke the blonde hair, she resumed talking "You're right. Yuna does deserve happiness and we'll make sure she gets it, alright? I'll help you and we'll help her write her own happy ending." With that she placed a soft kiss on the top of the blonde's head.

Rikku pulled back a little to gaze into the eyes of the girl who had come to mean so much to her. Yeah, she was definitely worried about Yunie but that was not the only thing that had been making her cranky. The thought that Paine had something in the past with Gippal, Baralai and Nooj that she didn't know about, had really ticked her off. Ever since that incident under Bevelle, the blonde's sleep had not been easy.

_Does she have any idea how nervous she makes me feel just by being in the same room? _Ok, so may be it wasn't entirely her fault that she tended to go a bit hyper and extra perky around the quiet girl… was it? _How many respect points do I have left? Oh right, 46. Stupid Noojie Woojie! Made me lost 4 points! _Rikku thought even though she knew that it wasn't really his fault. She just needed to let out some steam on something... or someone. She had been going out of her way, even to her standard, to get closer and learn more about the beautiful girl and her mysterious past but she hadn't been very successful. Everytime she thought she was getting close to the girl and that it was ok to probe a bit further, Paine would put the walls up between them again. The image of the warrior folding her arms over her chest and leaning her weight on one foot flashed through Rikku's mind. she knew the gesture all too well. It didn't really matter anymore anyway. She was hugging Paine who hadn't pushed her away. _And if that look in her eyes is what I think it is…_ Then all rational thoughts deserted her when she felt the hand that had been caressing her hair earlier, brushed the tears away from her face…

Paine noticed a slight catch in Rikku's breathing as she wiped the remaining tears off the girl's face with her thumb. The blonde had been looking at her with an expression that Paine could not quite place. Returning her gaze back to the green whirls in front of her and Paine was entranced. _Is that… longing?_

Rikku unconsciously wet her lips and started to lean in slowly. When she saw that the other girl wasn't going to pull away, she closed her eyes and the small distance between them, pressing their lips together in a brief but sweet kiss.

When she drew back and opened her eyes to see Paine's reaction to the kiss, she was startled to find those lips on hers again but she quickly recovered and responded to the persisting mouth of the older girl.

Both gloved hands moved to cup the Al Bhed's cheeks, pulling the other girl into a more demanding kiss. Paine had been slightly shocked at first at the contact but a warm glow quickly spread through her body. The kiss was blissful.

And she wanted more.

Parting her lips, Paine darted her tongue out to run over Rikku's lower lip. Sucking in the soft flesh into her mouth, she grazed her teeth over it and was granted with a low moan from the blonde. Feeling the Al Bheds's hands started moving up and down the bare skin of her back, it was all the warrior could do to suppress the groan that fought that come out. They continued kissing, lightly teasing and nibbling each other lips.

When Rikku made a move to pull her in closer to deepen the kiss, Paine stopped her and reluctantly moved away. With what little conscience she had left, she knew they were going too fast and needed to stop. Pleased by a whimper of disappointment from the blonde and a pair of lips reaching out in search of the lost contact, she put her forehead against that of the other girl, drawing in a ragged breath.

"Wait, Rikku." Seeing worry and fear seeping back into the green eyes, she quickly pressed on, "I, I want to take this slowly, whatever it is that we have." Gathering up the words and courage to say what she felt had to be said, Paine leaned back and stared into the pools of green, "I don't know what it is that I feel for you and I'm not sure if this is going to work out between us." She paused and continued, "What I know is that I want to give it a try and I want us to take it step by step. I don't think I'm ready for anything more than this yet but I'm working on it." She finished with a rare smile grazing her lips.

Rikku straightened up and Paine dropped her hands that had been stroking the girl's cheeks. The blonde smiled brightly and said, "That still means there is something between us, right? And you do feel something for me, right?" Paine's smile widened and with a little nod of the silver head, Rikku sprang up to her feet.

"Yup-yup! Don't worry, I'll shaky shake my way into your heart eventually!" She was jumping from one foot to another with one fist up in the air and a huge grin plastered on her face.

Paine's smile turned into a smirk as she got up to her feet to join the bubbly blonde. _Now, that is my Rikku. ...MY Rikku? Hmm, I could get used to this. _Somehow, the thief had made her feel that it was ok to let her guard down, that it was safe to be herself around the other girl. _Besides, it makes her happy when I let her in, and happy Rikku is good. Very good._ "It's late. Do you want to go to sleep?"

Rikku paused to put a finger on her mouth and pretended to be pondering the question; "Mmm, only if you're coming with me." A cheeky grin spreading across her features while she rocked back and forth on the ball of her feet, "You know, with me still worrying about Yunie and all, I could really use a company."

Paine mocked a glare at the blonde that looked anything but worried at the moment. "Fine, but only to sleep, nothing else." the silver haired girl said while she led the other girl back into the Celsius and to the cabin.

---

They had been snuggled up and sleeping peacefully the next morning when Brother's horrendous voice boomed through the airship and woke them up. In a mixture of a sob and a shout, he wailed that they had found Yuna…

---------------------------

Things had been nothing less than frantic since then. The couple could rarely find quality alone time together. Now, with Vegnagun gone and a party last night in Besaid for the reunion of Yuna and her love, it was no wonder that Rikku was more than eager to push things forward. _But did she just…?_

Stunned by the open statement regarding the nature of their relationship in front of the other Gullwings, Paine only managed to exclaim, "Rikku!"

"What!" the now feisty blonde snapped. "I don't care if anybody knows. I. Want. A. Date. With. You!" Each word was accompanied by a shake of balled up fists.

Speechless, Paine gaped at her pissed off girlfriend. Although she had been comfortable enough to share her feelings and thoughts with the blonde when they were alone, she wasn't keen to lay their relationship out to the public eyes. Not that she was ashamed of it. The silver haired girl could not care less about what other people would think of them and Spira knew she would kill anyone who dare try to hurt her girl in anyway. Their personal life was theirs and she didn't want people prying into their affairs.

Feeling a bit self-conscious but also extremely overwhelmed by the amount of affection the blonde was showing, Paine dragged the other girl towards the elevator, away from the shocked stare of the three males.

Once they were out of the others' sight, the warrior pinned the smaller girl against the wall and pressed their lips together in a deep kiss. Breaking the contact, she smirked, "A date it is then."

The End, I think.


End file.
